World ranked distance swimmer and Rio 2016 hopeful Chris Bryan along with some of his High Performance team mates have confirmed they will take part in the annual Thomond Swim 2014
Published Friday 18th July 2014
World ranked distance swimmer and Rio 2016 hopeful Chris Bryan along with some of his High Performance team mates have confirmed they will take part in the annual Thomond Swim 2014 which takes place in the River Shannon, Limerick next Saturday, 26th July.
Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Michael Sheahan will officially start the Limerick Masters Swimming Club annual Thomond Swim at St Michael’s Boat Club at 6.30pm on Saturday evening which should make for a spectacular event on a balmy summer weekend.
University of Limerick Student Chris Bryan from Shannon trains at the High Performance Unit at UL and hopes to make the Irish team competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
The course will remain the same as previous years starting at the slipway at St Michaels Rowing Club travelling upriver under Sarsfield Bridge to a turning buoy above the Curragower Falls, under King John’s Castle, The Courthouse, Arthur’s Quay, Shannon Rowing Club and back down to finish at St Michael’s.
The overall distance is 1800m. The best viewing points for the event will be along O’Callaghan Strand and Clancy Strand on the north side of the river, Sarsfield Bridge, Arthur’s Quay and Howley’s Quay.
The Thomond swim is again designated as a qualifying race for the prestigious Liffey and Dun Laoghaire Harbour swims in Dublin thus creating interest among open water swimmers from the East Coast and this year an even greater representation is expected from the East coast.
“It is expected that the numbers of competitors in the Thomond event will be in excess of 100 on this occasion and in addition to those from the east coast there will be swimmers from Cork and Galway as well as from numerous clubs throughout the Munster and the Mid West regions,” said Dee Maguire, Thomond Swim PRO.
“This year the event is supported by Limerick City and County Council and the Mid West Regional Authority through the Nautisme Espace Atlantique program and we’re grateful to our sponsors for their support. It also takes place in the middle of the Limerick City of Culture summer programme and we’re encouraging as many spectators as possible to come out and support the event for what is the cleanest river swim in the country.”